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From the Desk of Marty Schaffel: Finding the Right Talent

Last month I went to Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky to try to find an intern who is majoring in communications and writing. I wanted that person to write profiles and articles about what people are doing for our association and projects we are working on as well. Gratefully I found Katelyn Norris. She has written numerous profiles already that we are putting out to our membership.  So who is Katelyn? I asked her to write a profile about herself that I could share with all of you. Her profile is below. Thank you Katelyn for all of your work. I suggest someone in our industry hire you when you graduate!!

Please see Katelyn’s personal profile below:

Katelyn Norris

September 21, 2020

All About Me

My name is Katelyn Norris, and I am the writing intern for ASHA. I am currently a senior at Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY, where I major in communications with a minor in writing. This semester at BU I am involved in a variety of organizations and serve in several leadership roles on campus.

I am a student journalist for our news outlet, Knights Media Network, and I also have had my poetry featured in our literary magazine. I serve as a part of the Student Government Association as the Vice President of Public Relations and on the Leadership Team for Pioneer Scholars, which organizes events for first generation college students. I also aid in other student services roles such as an Academic Peer Coach and Student Success Assistant. 

?Outside of Bellarmine, I am a poetry editor for an online magazine called Bitter Fruit Review. I am also an avid concert attendee (when there is not a pandemic), and I own more books than I can count. I consider myself to be a lover of all varieties of house plants, so my college dorm is overflowing with greenery.

?Since I started writing for ASHA, I have had the pleasure of writing  profiles on some outstanding members of the American Saddlebred community. I am quite an outsider when it comes to the world of horses of any kind. However, I feel like I have learned a fair amount, or at least enough to carry on a semi-coherent conversation about the breed. 

?I have surprisingly learned a fair amount about the breeding business of horses through various interviews. I learned how much science and skill goes into that process and how attached you can get to yearlings. I learned that artificial insemination is a thing that you do in some breeding, and I also learned that this is a fact I wish I didn’t know. 

I learned a lot about the association as well, because I never considered the work that truly went into a business such as ASHA. I hadn’t ever considered there being large associations with events and initiatives for horse breeds and that they were actively working on promoting that breed. I might be from Kentucky, but it became very clear that I truly had little idea of what the horse industry in my state was up to.

?I briefly learned more about horse competitions, and that there are far too many that occur for me to remember the names of. I learned that being given the title of World Champion is a high honor. I heard about the Select Series and I am still unsure of what it is but from what I understood, it sounded like a cool event.

?However, the two things that I learned so far in my internship is that I have so much more to learn about the Saddlebred  community and that the people within the community are some of the most driven humans I have ever met. The work ethic and passion I have seen come from the people I’ve interviewed is astounding. They all have been deeply attached to the American Saddlebred and have a pure love for the breed. I can’t articulate how much I am envious of the drive people within this community have. They all have the urge to help it grow and put their hearts into seeing that the breed is furthered.

?I hope to continue to learn more about this association and horse breed. And I hope that I get to continue to interview and write about amazing people who will continue to inspire me to love something as much as they do.

I highly recommend reading her wonderful profiles on two of our current volunteer ASHA Leaders Nicole Foster and Amy Dix Rock. I look forward to reading her upcoming profiles and seeing her talent continue for the ASHA! 

Marty Schaffel, ASHA President